The House of Tyranny - Waterdeep Dragon Heist, Chapter 11

Amath Sercent stood before the blazing fireplace, resplendent in the red and black robes of a priestess of Bane. She raised her hands and lifted her face towards the ceiling. Her four acolytes followed suit. 

The five of them stood in a circle around a middle-aged man. The man was manacled at his wrists and ankles and was chained to the floor on his hands and knees - forced to bow in supplication to the dark god of tyranny and destruction. 

The priestess and her acolytes began their chant. The man on the floor, a newspaper editor named Shan Chien, sobbed and pleaded, "No more! Please! I beg of you! No more!"

One of the acolytes noticed a tiny owl perched in one of the arrow-slits overlooking the darkened street outside. The acolyte pointed her finger at the owl and a burst of crimson radiance flared into existence, enveloping the owl with accursed flame. 

CHAPTER 11

"THE HOUSE OF TYRANNY"

The Mystics of Trollskull Manor:

• Winterfire of House Silverspear - Chaotic Good Moon Elf Noble and Fighter. The daughter of elven diplomats, raised among dwarves.
  
• Etlenda, aka "Exile" - Neutral Good Eladrin Outlander and Paladin. Exiled from the Feywild and raised by wolves. While exploring the Feydark he crossed over into the Underdark and emerged into the Mortal World.
• Tempus Vegvisir - Lawful Good Human Trade Sheriff and Cleric of Helm. Husband and Father.
• Push-ta Tok - Neutral Half-Orc Former Smuggler and Rogue, secret member of the Zhentarim.
• Kem Hearthfire - Chaotic Good Half-Orc Former Gladiator Priestess of Gond.

DM- The Mystics of Trollskull Manor storm the ancient tower known as Yellowspire in to stop a dark cult from performing an evil ritual. In so doing they retrieve the Stone of Golorr. This week was pretty fun. The Yellowspire fight was challenging and interesting and roleplaying the Stone of Golorr is a hoot!  

Yellowspire

The Mystics of Trollskull Manor stood outside in the snow-covered street. Some more flakes began to fall. The sun had recently set behind the blanket of white sky. The darkness had that diffuse glow of a wintry landscape at night. 

Before them stood the ancient edifice of Yellowspire, a forty foot tall tower, once the home of a lesser wizard. It was supposed to be abandoned yet warm light shined through the arrow slit windows on the second floor and smoke billowed from the haphazard chimney. 

Winterfrost - who now insisted on being called Winterfire after drinking a magic potion to change her hair color bright red, sent her tiny familiar, T'owl, up to the arrow slit to look inside. She closed her eyes so that she could share the owl's sight.

She saw a room littered with ruined furniture, broken decades ago. A middle-aged man was manacled at his wrists and ankles and chained to the floor, forced to kneel on his hands and knees. He was surrounded by five women - four dressed as religious acolytes and one a priestess. Several black black winged snakes were coiled among the rafters of the ceiling.

One of the acolytes noticed her owl. She pointed at the bird and a small burst of holy flame appeared. The owl barely escaped. She recalled T'owl and told the others what she saw. 

Tempus said, "I've heard enough. We're going in!"

Charge

Tempus ran up to the door but turned to call to Push'ta, "Push'ta, get up here and pick this door!"

Push'ta ran up with his lockpicks ready, but hesitated, "Uh, there's no lock."

Tempus cursed and took a step back. He took a deep breath and prepared to kick the door in.

Winterfrost walked up casually and gently opened the door, "It's not locked."

Tempus and Push'ta exchanged an embarrassed glance. Tempus shrugged. 

Winterfrost ran inside towards the spiral stairs leading up. Etlenda magically appeared in front of her in a puff of silver mist. The pair charged up the stairs together, followed by Tempus and Push'ta.

Kem entered more carefully, guarding the rear.

Grand Mal

The Mystics burst into the room and spread out.  Winterfrost grasped one of the acolytes with a shocking grip spell. Kem said a prayer and a spiritual hammer appeared near one acolyte, smashing her from behind. Kem followed up with her own hammer, knocking the acolyte to the ground.

The priestess snarled, "These infidels have disturbed the holy work of Bane! Kill them my sisters!" 

The acolytes said prayers of their own. One said a prayer of sanctuary over the priestess. Another said a prayer of healing for downed companion, returning her to consciousness. The fourth attacked Etlenda with little effect. 

Meanwhile the flying snakes harried the intruders, attacking before disappearing into the rafters.

The priestess made intricate hand movements and said a prayer. Suddenly the area around her swarmed with ghostly apparitions - spiritual warriors of Bane, the god of Tyranny and Warfare.

The spiritual warriors clashed against Push'ta, seriously wounding him. Push'ta took aim with his crossbow but the sanctuary forced his aim away. He took a breath and overcame the aversion of the miracle of sanctuary, sending a crossbow into the priestess. The crossbow caused her to lose her concentration and interrupt her chant. She screamed and the spiritual warriors disappeared.

DM- Spirit Guardians are NO JOKE! Push'ta took 20 points of damage and was in bad shape. If he hadn't spent his Inspiration to re-roll that Wisdom save to overcome Sanctuary, had he not hit the priestess, and had she not failed her Concentration check, it would have been bad news for the party. He was MVP for the night!

Etlenda slew one of the acolytes with a strike that rang with a clap of thunder. Winterfire followed up with a magical stream of acid that burned away another acolyte. Winterfire then sent her familiar, T'owl, out the arrow slit so that he could fly up and enter the chimney. In so doing she hoped to surprise the priestess from behind. 

Tempus called forth spiritual flame upon his adversaries while his familiar, Edward the Bat, exhaled icy white dragon breath upon the flying snakes. 

The priestess regained her composure and summoned forth another swarm of spiritual guardians.

This time, without the Sanctuary to protect her, Push'ta easily took aim and shot her with another crossbow bolt. This time, the priestess fell dead. The remaining acolytes were soon dispatched and the room was secured.

DM - Push'ta was once again MVP for the second time in as many rounds.

They freed the bound man. His name was Shan Chien. He was the editor of a broadsheet and was critical of the Zhentarim. He had been captured the night before by the acolytes and brought here. The priestess made it clear that he was to be subjected to a painful ritual that would break his will so that he would stop writing stories critical of the Zhentarim. He also revealed that someone named Manshoon was supposed to arrive soon. He said the only Manshoon he knew was the historical founder of the Zhentarim who had died over a hundred year ago.

Push'ta searched the priestess' body and found a smooth stone about the size of a yam. Along the side of the stone were three beady eyes surrounded by wrinkled lids. The eyes blinked and looked at him. A voice in his head whispered, "Feed me." He grimaced and put the stone in a bag.  

Manshoon Appears

The team moved quickly to avoid the imminent arrival of Manshoon. Winterfire had earlier noticed the presence of scaffolding outside the arrow slit windows on the rear of the tower. Everyone squeezed through the slits and moved onto the scaffolding, carefully making their way down the ladders and away from the tower. 

Tempus and Winterfire, however, stayed near the outside of the tower so they could observe the interior through the eyes of their familiars hiding in the rafters. Push-ta maintained a position on the roof of the entrance foyer, watching for any entry through the front door.

A few moments later a cloaked figure emerged into the upstairs chamber through the spiral stairs. Curiously, Push-ta had seen no one enter through the front door. 

The figure spoke in a thin raspy voice, "Amath, I have arrived. Do you have the stone?"

The figure stopped as it surveyed the scene - the dead body of Amath, slain with a crossbow bolt, four dead acolytes, and three frozen flying snakes. "I see." 

The figure crossed the room, stepping over the acolytes. He reached out with a strange mechanical hand and searched Amath's body. It came away empty.

"I was too late." The figure stood up and examined the rest of the room. "This is not the work of Xanathar's Guild. Nor does this appear to be the handiwork of agents of Neverember. This can only be those fools - the so-called Mystics of Trollskull Manor. They will pay for their insolent interference."

The robed figure spun on its heel and fled the room down the stairs. Wintefire's familiar, T'owl, followed from a distance. Push-ta saw no one leave the tower. T'owl flew down into the cellar where it found a table and some cards. There was a closed door in one corner of the cellar. A keyhole on the door indicated a level of security not present elsewhere in the tower. Unable to open the door, Winterfire recalled T'owl.

Winterfire, Tempus, and Push-ta rejoined the others at a nearby station of the City Watch, where Etlenda was reporting the abduction and ensuring the safety of Mister Chien. 

The Stone of Golorr

The party regrouped and planned their next move. It was roughly 9 bells at night. Fearing retribution from Manshoon, they chose not to return home. Instead, Kem requested asylum at the House of Inspired Hands. Despite the late hour, Valetta, the dragonborn priestess of Gond, was happy to assist the group. Kem Hearthfire had recently proven herself invaluable to the Temple of Gond so Valetta was happy to provide sanctuary.

DM - Kem had earned that favor in her recent down-time. Since her Charisma limited her to only one favor at a time, she was happy to be able to cash it in.

That night the party slept in the spartan guest quarters. Winterfire spent her hours meditating with the Stone of Golorr. 

The next morning, the team ate breakfast with the other priests of Gond. They even assisted in testing a new invention - a device worn around the neck with small arms controlled by one's eyes that allowed one to use a knife and fork without using their hands.

DM - I love silly improvised fluff.

After breakfast, the group retired to a meditation cell. Winterfire produced the stone. Push-ta prepared to fight Wintefire should she succumb to mind control or a curse.

The Stone of Golorr spoke to her telepathically, "I require knowledge. Feed me."

Winterfire replied, "Well, that may be a problem. I don't know very much."

The stone sighed, "Ugh. Indeed. You are an idiot. You are useless to me. Read a book or something."

DM - Thus did I roleplay the Stone of Golorr as a grumpy but needy presence that fed on knowledge. He talked like Bat-Dad. Deep secrets of the universe were hearty meals that sated the stone. Mundane trivia and daily facts were tiny candy-like morsels. 

He was fun to roleplay. I would say stuff like, "Winterfire! Winterfire! Read a book for crying out loud! I'm starving!"or "I measure the passage of time in the birth and death of stars. I am eternal. Tell me more about this 'Babysitter's Club' series of novels."

The stone was especially keen on actually getting to see the play from two nights previous. "Winterfire! Winterfire! Take me to the play! I never actually got to see it and I feel cheated!"

Upon her communion with the stone, Winterfire learned several facts:

1. Dagult Neverember sequestered his embezzled treasure in a dwarven vault beneath the City of the Dead. 
2. The entrance into the vault lies within the Brandath family mausoleum.
3. The vault is guarded by a dragon with scales of gold. His name is Aurinax.
4. The dragon wields the Dragonstaff of Ahghairon - his payment for guarding the treasure.
5. The dragon was instructed to guard the treasure until such time as Dagult Neverember or his authorized agents.
6. The entrance to the vault is sealed and can only be opened with three keys. The keys change every tenday. The three current keys that will open the vault are:

• The eyestalk of a beholder
• Gems worth at least 1,000 gp
• a Unicorn

The team considered the list of items before them.

Etlenda said, "I know where we can get the eyestalk."

Push-ta said, "I can get the gems if you all pitch in."

Winterfire said, "The unicorn is tough, but I know the dwarven mindset that created these keys and I have an idea."

To Be Continued

Mistshore - Waterdeep Dragon Heist, Chapter 10

Agorn Fuoco sat waiting for the play to begin. This was his tenth viewing of the performance of Blood Wedding and he was as excited tonight as he was opening night - if not more so for by now he knew the play by heart and he anticipated what was to come. 

His companion, the priestess Amath Sercent, was less enthused. She continued to look around, "I don't see her! She's late! That washed up pirate wench was supposed to deliver the stone tonight!"

"Shh! She'll be here! Don't worry! Just enjoy the production!"

Amath rolled her eyes. She had no interest in the theater. "Why do you like this stupid play so much?"

"Blood Wedding? What's NOT to love? Its a a play about love, jealousy, and death. In the story, a young woman is brought to a castle by a count, only to fall in love with his younger brother, a man of faith. Her betrayal eats away at the jealous count. He murders his brother on his wedding day and pursues the bride, who hurls herself off the castle battlements in despair. The count is cursed by the gods and transformed into a creature of darkness, damned to live in his castle and feed on blood."

Recounting the plot out loud suddenly gave Agorn an idea.

"What? What's that look for?" said Amath through narrowed eyes.

"I just thought of a solution to my problem at home, a solution to what has been holding me back!  A bold act that will sever my ties to my so-called old family and will cement my position within my new family in the Zhentarim! An audatious act that will surely impress Manshoon! It's in the play, you see? It gave me the idea! By the Gods what a masterpiece, like - on so many levels! Yes. Yes, I think I know what I must do."

"Whatever. Shut up. There she is! She looks like she's in a hurry. Ugh, what is she wearing? Here she comes. She'll make the drop and we'll leave. I told my coach driver to be ready."

"We're not staying for the performance?" asked Agorn, dejectedly.

"No! Of course not! Especially if that nautical hussy is being followed. She'll give you the stone and we'll go. Now get ready. Here she comes!" 

CHAPTER 10

"MISTSHORE"

The Mystics of Trollskull Manor:

• Winterfrost of House Silverspear - Neutral Good Moon Elf Noble and Fighter. The daughter of elven diplomats, raised among dwarves.
  
• Etlenda, aka "Exile" - Neutral Good Eladrin Outlander and Paladin. Exiled from the Feywild and raised by wolves. While exploring the Feydark he crossed over into the Underdark and emerged into the Mortal World.
• Tempus Vegvisir - Lawful Good Human Trade Sheriff and Cleric of Helm. Husband and Father.
• Push-ta Tok - Neutral Half-Orc Former Smuggler and Rogue.
• Kem Hearthfire - Chaotic Good Half-Orc Former Gladiator Priestess of Gond.

DM- The Mystics of Trollskull Manor head down to Mistshore in search of Agorn Fuoco. They did well but I made a common DM mistake - I'll post the explanation of my mistake and my apology to my players after the write-up.

Meanwhile...

After the events at the theater, the Mystics of Trollskull Manor returned to their home to rest. 

Push-ta summoned forth a flying snake and sent a message to Davil Starsong asking for more information about Agorn Fuoco - the man to whom Vevette handed the stone. Push-ta received a response the next morning. The message read:

Agorn dreamed of becoming a famous bard but he had no success so he decided to devote himself to the Zhentarim, quickly advancing through the ranks thanks to his puppy like devotion to Manshoon.

Meanwhile, jealous of Etlenda's ability to change his appearance, Winterfrost stopped off at Fala Lefalir's apothecary shop to purchase some magical hair-color potions. She immediately drank one to change her white hair to red.

Mistshore

The team assembled and trudged through the fresh snow towards Mistshore on the other side of Waterdeep. They arrived at the dilapidated neighborhood around mid-morning. Mistshore was a slum that had suffered a large fire a year previous. Much of the neighborhood still lay in charred ruins. The remaining structures were built from partially disassembled ships and boats turned upside down with tarp-like roofs and walls made from canvas sails. The wretchedly poor inhabitants huddled around small fires. Burly toughs leaned against walls on several corners.

The way ahead of them was blocked by a two-horse hire-coach. The coach driver sat impatiently in the driver's seat, rubbing her hands to keep warm.

Push-ta told the others to wait behind the coach. He would scout ahead. He passed his hand over his face and his appearance changed to that of a human, a full foot shorter than his normal 7 foot height but still strikingly tall. Tempus summoned forth his magical bat, Edward, and instructed his familiar to ride on Push-ta's shoulder. In that way, Push-ta could remain in contact with the rest of the team as he explored ahead.

Push-ta took a long route around some nearby structures to get in front of the coach. He walked through the snow-covered neighborhood, listening carefully to conversations and closely observing the attitude of the local toughs.

As he navigated the twisting gaps between the makeshift hovels he overhead a small group of locals mention something about Grinda - that her crazy invention was nearing completion and that she was looking to hire pilots to help her find the treasure. This information piqued Push-ta's interest. 

He also saw a heavily damaged ship. On board the deck were nearly a dozen surly looking mercenaries. He recognized the name - Kraken's Folly. It was the home of a group of freelance mercenaries which the Zhentarim sometimes employed. 

At the end of the alley, located at the end of an old pier, was a rickety workshop. A sign hung outside - Grinda Garloth - Alchemist and Inventor. 

He returned to the others with this information. 

The Coach Driver

The team moved around the waiting coach. Etlenda and Tempus engaged the driver in idle conversation. They learned that her name was Rowan Evenwood. She ran a coach-for-hire out of the Castle Ward. She said she was unavailable as her current fare paid her extra to wait for his return - though she was beginning to be impatient as it was very cold. 

When asked about the fare she said she picked him up at a walled villa in the Castle Ward, brought him here, and that he went off "that way" indicating a direction towards the Kraken's Folly. She also said that she had picked him and a woman up the night before at the theater. She took them back to the walled villa in the Castle Ward and asked her to come back today for this job. 

Rowan gave Tempus her calling card, saying, "If you ever need to hire me, send a messenger to this address with the day and whether you need me first light, mid-morning, high sun, mid-afternoon, etc. I'll be there."

Grinda Garloth

The Mystics of Trollskull Alley deduced that Agorn was meeting with this "Grinda" person to use the Stone of Golorr to help search for "the Treasure". They ventured into the  narrow winding alleys of Mistshore and located Grinda's shop. They heard children throwing snowballs at each other on the ice of the frozen bay beneath the pier. 

They knocked on the door and a woman called out, "Are you here about the advertisement?"

They said yes and soon the door was opened. A woman in her late fifties grinned at them appreciatively. She had unkempt hair, wore goggles atop her head, and a thick leather apron. Her hands were stained with oil and grease and grime. "Welcome! Welcome! Come in! I suppose you'll want to see the machine then!"

Grinda Garloth led them past her messy sleeping room containing a work bench and an unmade bed and into an adjoining workshop. Within the workshop was a large shape covered by a tarpaulin. Grinda paused to build suspense before pulling away the tarpaulin with a flourish. "This- is my apparatus!"

It was a large metal machine with a cylindrical body big enough for two people to sit within. It was supported by six heavy metal legs like crab legs. Two manipulators were folded up beneath the front. Several thick port-holes allowed visibility from within as well as a periscope. 

DM- My players groaned. An Apparatus of Kwalish? AGAIN? They had one in Ghosts of Saltmarsh and didn't really like it. But that was mostly because they all already had the ability to breathe underwater except for the dwarf. He alone got stuck in the Apparatus and it is not designed to be operated by only one person.

Grinda explained that she designed it to scour the bottom of the bay for treasure. She had previously experimented with smaller devices but ran into problems when a large intelligent shark named Obliteros. So she designed this larger armored vehicle. Now she just needed two pilots to test the vehicle - so she had posted the advertisements in the broadsheets. 

She also explained that she didn't have much to offer by way of payment. She had sought funding for her work from the House of Inspired Hands. They denied her the grant she sought because she refused to turn over the finished device to the Temple of Gond. 

Suddenly Grinda recognized Kem. Kem was an acolyte of Gond and a volunteer at the House of Inspired Hands. Grinda became suspicious, accusing Kem of being a spy sent to steal her work!

Kem assured her this was not the case. 

Although Tempus considered the offer. He asked Grinda how she would deal with the bronze dragon that lived in the bay.

"There's a bronze dragon in the bay?" was her reply.

"Yes. His name is Zelifarn," said Tempus.

"How do you know this?"

"I've met him, " was Tempus' confident reply.

"You've met him - at the bottom of the bay. I suppose you did this using magic potions or some such."

"Of course."

"But don't you see?" said Grinda, enthusiastically, "My device is mechanical. It does not rely on magic. Any regular person can pilot my device to the bottom of the ocean. No magic is necessary! It is my dream to create many such machines! Perhaps machines to replace the horse on the roads - or fly from country to country like the giant roc! This is my dream!"

Tempus considered the offer to test the device but was reminded of their mission. 

"Right, of course. Grinda, do you know someone named Agorn Fuoco?"

Grinda rolled her eyes, "Yes. He's a real piece of work that one! Left his poor mother to become an actor or something useless. Never comes back to visit the poor dear. That would be his mother, Marta.  She lives a few houses down." Grinda pointed in the direction of the hovels attached to the base of the hulk of the Kraken's Folly.

"Thanks. We're going to have to say no to your job for now, but we might come back."

"Don't wait too long! I have other applicants, you know!"

A Bit of Matricide

The team made haste to the hovel of Marta Fuoco. The entrance was little more than a dirty curtain. They entered and found a well-dressed man smothering an old woman with a pillow. He picked up his pillow to check if she was still breathing. She wasn't. He smiled, "It is done. I am free!"

Winterfrost leaped across the room, kicking the man away from the old woman and shoving him against the far wall. He was outraged, "How dare you? Don't you know who I am? I'm Agorn Fuoco! ACTOR!"

Tempus ran to the aid of the woman, saying a prayer to spare the dying. 

Push-ta and Kem ran around the outside of the hovel to cover the rear exit. Etlanda covered the main entrance. 

Agorn Fuoco stood up straight, dramatically proclaiming, "You leave me no choice! I will teach you a lesson using the power of - ACTING!" He clutched his heart with his right hand, and thrust forth his left hand into the air. He bellowed, "To BE! Or NOT to be! THAT is the question!" The thunderous wave of his voice pushed against Tempus and Winterfrost with powerful force!

Push-ta countered with a magical shocking grasp attack. 

Tempus said a prayer and a sonorous bell pealed around Agorn. He clutched his head in pain. 

Kem smashed her hammer against the bard's head. "Not the face!" he protested. Kem followed up with a prayer of healing for the old woman. She began to cough and breathe.

Agorn regained his regal composure and pointed his finger towards the entrance, behind Tempus and Winterfrost and Etlenda. He dramatically declared, "Hark! What light through yon window BREAKS!" and the air shattered, splintering wood and causing Winterfrost to feel as if her bones were cracking. 

The team ganged up on the bard, smashing him with hammers and clubs and the flats of their swords. He threw up his hands in surrender, "Okay! Okay! You have bested me! The curtain falls on act one. But surely, I will be saved by deus ex machina in act two!"

Everyone stood still, confused, for a moment. There was silence.

Agorn said again, louder, "I said- SURELY - I WILL BE SAVED BY DEUS EX MACHINA IN ACT TWO!" 

Again, silence.

Agorn shouted, "THAT'S YOUR BLOODY CUE YOU MORONS!"

The team heard the sound of tromping boots through the snow as several groups of surly bruisers appeared from the shadows, drawing swords and crossbows as they moved towards the hovel.

Enter Thugs

The approaching thugs had the hovel surrounded - some sent crossbow bolts at Etlenda at the entrance, forcing him to hide behind his shield. Other thugs circled around the hovel towards the rear entrance. Kem moved to intercept while Push-ta harried them with his own crossbow. 

At that moment, Tempus heard a loud crack and a splash of water followed by the sound of children screaming. He looked out the back and saw that one of the children playing on the ice had broken through and was drowning. 

"Are you kidding me right now?" he said, exasperatedly, as he moved past Kem and climbed down the piling at the corner of the dock to reach the ice.

The road warden moved carefully across the ice and got down on his belly to reach out and grab the drowning boy. He pulled the boy out and dragged him towards the shore where the boy's two friends waited.

Meanwhile, the fight around the hovel had garnered the attention of the mercenaries on the nearby Kraken's Folly. They called out, mockingly, "Oy! Pay us and we'll help you fight!"

The thugs sneered, "Fuck off! We don't need your bloody help!"

Push-ta called up to them, "Hey! I'll pay a dragon for each one of these creeps you kill for us!"

"Yer on!" The mercenaries began peppering the thugs with crossbow bolts. 

Tempus sent his bat, Edward, to fly above and behind the thugs by the rear entrance. To everyone's surprise, the bat exhaled a fan of deadly cold white dragon's breath on the thugs. 

Push-ta killed one of the thugs with his own crossbow. One of the mercenaries shot a bolt into the floor next to Push-ta. Push-ta called up, "Hey! Attack them, not us!"

"Fuck you! You took my kill! You owe me a dragon!"

"The hell I do!" shouted Push-ta.

"Then the way I figure it. If you got all these dragons to pay us for killing these fellas. How about I just kill you and take all those dragons?"

The other mercenaries paused to consider this. 

Push-ta grimaced at the thought. Luckily, he was saved when Edward the bat exhaled another blast of cold dragon breath, killing the last of the thugs.

Fireball

Meanwhile, at the front entrance, Etlenda was holding the line behind his shield as Winterfrost bound and gagged Agorn. 

Etlenda said, "They're moving in. I could use some help up here."

Winterfrost moved next to Etlenda. The tips of crossbow bolts stuck through the thin wooden walls. Winterfrost pulled a necklace out of her pocket. It was a necklace with two red beads that she had taken from the rain barrel after the attack on the street in front of their house.

She kissed the beads and threw them into the street.

The beads exploded in a great burst of flame, killing all the advancing thugs. 

The mercenaries on the deck of the Kraken's Folly instinctively ducked for cover. When it was clear, they rose slowly and began to applaud and cheer. 

The snow was now melted. The pier and several of the makeshift hovels nearby were on fire. People were running in terror. 

Winterfrost stared in awe at the destruction she had wrought.

Etlenda sheathed his sword and put down his shield, "Don't just stand there. You did this! Put the fire out!"

Winterfrost shook herself back to reality, "Oh, right, the hovels."

Clean-up

Winterfrost and Etlenda set about stomping out the fire. Edward the bat blew cold blasts to douse the flames. Winterfrost rescued a destitute couple who were trapped in their burning hovel. Feeling bad for the situation she put them in, she offered them paying jobs as housekeepers at Trollskull Manor.

DM- I unfortunately used the NPCs in the hovel to start a debate with the player - a thing that I acknowledged as a mistake immediately after the game - see below.

Down on the ice, Tempus made a pitch to the children to watch over and help protect Marta Fuoco. The children, being children, showed little interest in the work.

"Street urchins. Would you like to take care of an old lady for me? She's bed-ridden and can't leave her ramshackle hovel in the slums."

The children replied incredulously, "Uh, no? We want to be adventurers like you!" (clacking wooden swords)

Tempus countered, "Well, sure. Well, this is your chance to BE an adventurer like me!"

"Really? Awesome! Do we get to be your squire?"

Tempus said, "Sort of! Okay, to be an adventurer, you have to do the right thing, do what an adventurer would do. And what would an adventurer do?"

The kids replied in unison, "Take all the gold and leave and never come back!"

Etlenda shouted from up on the pier, "They're not wrong!"

A second child said, "Yeah, isn't that what you're about to do?"

The third child said, "Hey, yeah! Why don't YOU stay and take care of the old lady?"

Tempus, loosening his collar, awkwardly cleared his throat and coughed.

DM- again, I used the NPCs to debate with the player - another mistake which I talk about below.

The team brought the bound and gagged Agorn Fuoco back to the waiting coach. They told Rowan that they wanted to hire her to take Agorn to the nearest city watch station, then later to take them home.

On their way to a city watch station in the Castle Ward, they ungagged and interrogated Agorn. Agorn told them that he served Manshoon - the founder of the Zhentarim reborn! Manshoon had plans for taking over the Zhentarim in Waterdeep, and eventually all of Waterdeep. He said he didn't know where the stone was, currently. 

Agorn refused to answer any questions about his accomplices. However, Rowan said that she had done regular work for Agorn and his companion - a woman named Amath Sercent. Amath was the one who lived in the walled villa and typically hired the coach. Rowan said that she often took Amath from her walled villa to an old tower called Yellowspire. 

The team dropped Agorn off at the city watch station. The watch officers asked, "Okay? Who's this guy?"

They explained his crime and how they caught him in the act of trying to kill his mother.

After a short debate about evidence and accusation, the watch took Fuoco into custody.

DM- Again, I must have been in a mood because I inappropriately used the NPC to debate the player's actions. See below.

With that, the Mystics of Trollskull Manor returned home to plan their next move.

To Be Continued...

My DM Mistake

First things first - I do not consider this a big deal or anything. It's just something I noticed I was doing so I want to acknowledge that I realized I did it and I'll try to adjust in the future.

I was punishing my players for success and unnecessarily overcomplicating simple plans.

• Tempus was just trying to get some kids to watch after an old lady in the neighborhood who obviously needed help.
• Winterfrost was just trying to compensate some poor people for the damage his character had done to their ramshackle home and maybe make their life a little better.
• All ya'll were just trying to deliver a bad guy to the proper authorities.

In each instance, I took a simple plan and tried to overcomplicate it with what, in my mind I guess, were mitigating factors that made the action seem implausible.

That was bad-DM'ing and what I SHOULD have done was "Okay, the kids promise to watch the old lady.", "You're offering us a job and willing to pay for damages? Thank you milady!", "We'll see this scumbag gets what he deserves!" and moved on.

I don't know why. 

That's not true, I can think of several possible reasons.

Maybe it was because my personal biases see big social problems like poverty and crime as inherently complicated societal issues that are unsolvable by simple solutions so I reacted to simple solutions with knee-jerk implausibility.  

Maybe because I'm seeing everything through the viewpoint of the NPCs so my brain is used to thinking what THEY'RE thinking, which is  often more complicated and nuanced than what the players are thinking because the players don't have all the info.  

Maybe I was just in kind of a weird mood that night. I don't know. 

But this is D&D and the players and their characters are the stars of the story and they should be rewarded for decisive action with decisive results, not push-back from the DM - complex social issues be damned! 

I'm not saying my push-back was WRONG, mind you -

• those kids just want to run around and play swords - they absolutely would NOT want to spend their day watching after an old lady instead of playing, even if they were paid. I mean, come on, they're like 10 year old kids!
• the poor couple whose house was nearly burned down probably either lack the ability or have no desire to work for rich people in the North Ward - there could be a million reasons why they're poor, ranging from personal history or choices to complex and indirect societal factors - and they might have every reason to be suspicious of this stranger putting out a fire then offering them a job - from their point of view that would be random and frightening
• You can't just drop a prisoner off at the city watch and say "This guy committed a crime!" with zero evidence. Usually, in this kind of setting, you make an accusation against the person and present your case to the magistrate. You might say "He's a witch!". The watch first evaluates, "is this a plausible accusation?" If so, they'll throw the accused in a cell, interrogate and torture them (torture's probably off the table in Waterdeep), then they'll have a trial in which the accuser makes their case using logic, evidence, witnesses, etc. Simply saying "I saw him do it" might not hold up. You need someone NOT making the accusation serve as a witness. 

I'm saying I shouldn't have pushed back DURING THE GAME. It absolutely ruined any sense of accomplishment and damaged the flow and pacing of the game.

And for doing that, I apologize and I'll try not to do it in the future.